


as carefree and wild

by GuardianKarenTerrier



Series: Week Three: Talents [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Gen, Modelling, miracuclass, the miracuclass is ride or die and you cant convince me otherwise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 00:27:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20331016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuardianKarenTerrier/pseuds/GuardianKarenTerrier
Summary: "Why don't you try taking some pictures outside?" A voice calls from the doorway, and Adrien looks up in confusion.  He's invited a few of his classmates to his photo shoots before, but it's usually only Marinette or Nino who actually come, and he can tell Nino's only there to wait for Adrien to be free. (As free as he really gets outside of his suit, anyway).He's not at all prepared to see Alix leaning into the open doorway with a grin, Marc and Nathaniel half-hidden behind her.  If Adrien had ever, for any reason, been asked to list his classmates in order of who he would least expect to turn up at a photo shoot none of the three would be anywhere near the top of the list. Alix would probably be sharing the bottom of it with Kim and Max.His cameraman brightens.  "Yes, it's a lovely day, isn't it? Maybe some natural lighting will be less harsh."





	as carefree and wild

**Author's Note:**

> for the adrienaugreste prompt 'modelling'
> 
> thank shinobicyrus!

Adrien tries very, very hard to keep his gaze forward and his eyes fully open. 

It's not something he ever used to have a problem doing. 

Plagg's claws poke him, not hard enough to break skin, but enough to distract. Adrien really, really doubts Plagg feels any guilt over Adrien's new inability to handle long periods of bright light comfortably, but Plagg _ is _ good about understanding that it _ is _ a problem. Plagg is the one who suggested that Adrien find some way to keep himself distracted. 

Plagg probably hadn’t meant to volunteer himself.

It works, though- Adrien straightens at the prick of claws, consciously widening his eyes and trying not to wince away from the light. As much as he loves his night vision, it's made camera flashes painful in a way they never were before. It's made photo shoots in general painful in a way they never were before.

Adrien's photographer lowers the camera, frowning at it instead of at Adrien. "I'm not so sure about those last few."

Adrien sighs inwardly. He was supposed to meet up with Nino today, but the shoot's already gone over by an hour and a half. Nino knows better than to wait up for him, Adrien's told him not to often enough, but Nino frequently tries to anyway. Adrien sort of hopes Alya's managed to drag his best friend off somewhere today, because he doesn't think he'll be done any time soon and it's not fair to throw a wrench into Nino's day, too.

"Why don't you try taking some pictures outside?" A voice calls from the doorway, and Adrien looks up in confusion. He's invited a few of his classmates to his photo shoots before, but it's usually only Marinette or Nino who actually come, and he can tell Nino's only there to wait for Adrien to be free. (As free as he really gets outside of his suit, anyway). 

He's not at all prepared to see Alix leaning into the open doorway with a grin, Marc and Nathaniel half-hidden behind her. If Adrien had ever, for any reason, been asked to list his classmates in order of who he would _ least _ expect to turn up at a photo shoot none of the three would be anywhere near the top of the list. Alix would probably be sharing the bottom of it with Kim and Max.

His cameraman brightens. "Yes, it's a lovely day, isn't it? Maybe some natural lighting will be less harsh."

Adrien smiles weakly. He'd really been hoping that his newly-sensitive reaction to the brighter indoor lighting had gone unnoticed, but he's working with Enzo today, and Enzo is one of the more observant photographers he's worked with. 

Adrien forgets to worry about that anyway once they've set back up outside, because it _ is _a relief to be out in the sunlight. He feels a tension drain from him that he hadn't been fully aware of and he hears Plagg sigh in relief as well. It's warm and sunny out and if becoming Chat Noir had made him more sensitive to bright lights and loud noises- both already things he'd never been very fond of- then it had also made him appreciate curling up in a sunny spot more. 

Not that he can do that right now, because he's been here for hours and they still aren't anywhere near done (Father won’t notice, but Nathalie’s the one who will have to reorganize Adrien’s schedule, which he feels guilty about), but he's still happy to be out of the building and away from the glare of the electric lights.

It takes him a moment to realise Alix, Marc and Nathaniel have followed them outside. 

Alix gestures ahead of herself. "You know there's a park, like, right there, right? An' you know what I don't think I've ever seen in any of your photo spreads?"

"I didn't even know you _ looked _ at my photo spreads," Adrien tells her, confused. He knows, in a general sort of way, that Alix is into art but he hadn't thought that she was into fashion very much, if at all.

Alix rolls her eyes and puts her hands on her hips, looking him up and down critically in a way that makes Adrien immediately uncomfortable. He shifts away from her the slightest bit and Alix takes a step back and meets his eyes again. "You're in our class, dude, of course I do. Back each other up, right?" She holds out her closed fist and Adrien fistbumps her automatically, too used to completing the gesture.

They end up at a different park before he remembers Alix never finished her suggestion. When he thinks about it later, Adrien's not really sure _ why _ they ended up at a different park, but he thinks Alix started to wander and the rest of them had just started absent-mindedly following her, even Enzo.

When Adrien asks Alix what her idea was, she brightens again. "Oh! It's just, I don't think you've really done any super active photo shoots? Like, I know you have _some_ where you're not, just, I dunno, mostly standing still-"

Marc makes a noise that's probably a stifled laugh.

"Okay, so Alix has only looked at your _ recent _ stuff," Nathaniel says, glancing up from his sketchbook. "But she's kind of right, you haven't done any, like, super active shots recently."

Adrien plucks at his shirt, raising an eyebrow. "That's because Father doesn't have an activewear line, currently."

"Hey, actually... wait." Nathaniel's brow furrows. "Has your dad even come _ out _ with any new clothing lines recently?"

Not for the past year he hasn't, but Adrien doesn't really want to open that particular line of discussion. "No, he hasn't."

Alix frowns. "Why is he even pulling you for so many photo shoots, then? We never get to see you and he doesn't have anything to promote!"

"The last couple have been for charity?" Adrien tries, weakly, because he doesn't honestly know the answer to that himself. "And I- he knows I like modelling..." Granted, the last several times Adrien had tried to speak to his father about his modelling he'd been asked to go away and stop disturbing him, but he's still clinging to the idea that Father at least _ does _ know it's something Adrien enjoys.

Marc speaks up for what Adrien only now realises is the first time. "It... kinda seems like you'd like hanging out with your friends _ more_."

"Hey, wait-" Nathaniel drops his sketchbook to his side, blinking at Adrien. "Is this a charity shoot, too?"

Adrien glances at his photographer, because he's honestly kind of lost track himself. 

Enzo is a little more lenient with Adrien's shoots to begin with, so it's not too surprising when he nods. "Yes, since as you said, there's no new Gabriel line."

"So... if it isn't really even about the clothes, then Adrien could really model _ anything_, couldn't he?" Alix presses, her eyes lighting up. "Because we know someone who's been working on a bunch of cool casual outfits-"

Adrien ends up spending plenty of time with Nino after all, because Alix is talking about Marinette, and when Marinette shows up Alya does too, and when Alya shows up so does Nino, and by then Enzo is getting more animated and enthusiastic with each new person that arrives and he wants _ all _ of them to participate and ends up sending Marc and Nathaniel back with Marinette to get more of her clothes.

Marinette's practically vibrating when she gets back with them, and Adrien can't quite tell if it's from nerves or happiness. He makes sure to smile at her as he takes some of the outfits she's struggling to carry out of her arms. "You know your own work the best, Marinette. Who do you think should try what?" 

It takes Marinette a couple tries to get her words in order, but as soon as she does she starts barrelling into her suggestions with the kind of determination and confidence Adrien remembers from accompanying her to her great-uncle's competition and from her helping him hide from overly-invested fans. Her earnest enthusiasm on pairing everyone with appropriate outfits is very quickly infectious.

Alix gets a very bright outfit, including a green denim jacket liberally spattered with paint that's vivid enough to glow in the sun even in the shadows of the trees. She immediately declares it 'graffiti chic' and Adrien's not wholly convinced Marinette is ever getting it back. 

Marc is too shy to want to be in _ any _ photos, opting instead to help Enzo with the camera and Marinette with figuring out who should have what.

Alya ends up sporting an entire Ladybug-themed outfit that Adrien is, honestly, jealous of. 

"I mean, skirts aren't really my thing, to be totally honest," she tells Adrien, grinning even as she spins to make the skirt flare out. "They're fun and all, but I'm not that comfortable in them." She tilts her head and gets a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I bet you could pull off a Ladybug skirt better than I can."

Adrien puts up both hands and backs away slightly, not at all trusting that gleam in Alya's expression. "Um, I think Marinette already had something in mind."

Alix raises her hand, bouncing on her heels a little. "And _ I _ think I want to see you in a skirt now, Agreste."

"Not actually opposed, especially not when it's Ladybug," Adrien teases, eyeing Alya's skirt appreciatively and wincing a little at the incoherent noise Marinette makes in response. "But, uh, maybe now isn't the time?" 

It takes some convincing to get Marinette into the photos too, but she eventually admits to a line of Chat Noir clothing that makes Adrien light up and Plagg start snickering so loud Adrien's half afraid someone will hear him. 

Nino is the one who ends up with it eventually, though- for right now it's only a black shirt with cat puns on it in acid green ('it's impawtant to have a pawsitive cattitude!', and Adrien _ desperately _wants one already), but Marinette does have her sketchbook with her and finally agrees to share sketches once they're done with photos. 

Nathaniel declines, at first, but he ends up in a Queen Bee shirt anyway and doesn't look all that put out by it.

Since the Ladybug and Chat Noir themes are already taken, and by now Alix is _ very clearly _ not about to take her jacket back off, Adrien ends up in a Carapace hoodie and Marinette ends up in a Rena Rouge blouse.

"Oh, _ wow_," Adrien says, running his fingers compulsively over the patterned fabric. Marinette's incorporated Carapace's shell patterns into the hoodie with a lot of very intricate stitching and Adrien keeps finding new details every time he looks. "Marinette, I know we all keep saying this, but these are all really, really good!"

Marinette flushes and hides behind Alya, though the bright orange and white of her flared sleeves is still highly visible. She stammers out something he's _ fairly _ certain is a thank you.

Even though they're already well off-schedule, they end up taking pictures for as long as the light lasts them. 

Adrien does remember to ask Enzo worriedly if he's likely to get into trouble for this.

Enzo shrugs. "I've been off the clock for hours now, this is just more fun than my original plans. Not really fond of my aunt anyway, you're all getting me out of an _ awful _ dinner commitment."

Adrien blinks at him, trying hard to block out Alya shouting something at Alix in the background. He's pretty sure Alix is trying to climb a tree in her jacket, because he also catches Marinette's, "Alya, it's okay, these are all _ made _ to be sturdy-"

"You wouldn't rather spend time with your family?" Adrien asks, and then fights back a wince at the pained note that slips into his voice.

Plagg slips seamlessly from his pocket up to the Carapace hood Adrien is still wearing. He can't keep the hood up for more than a couple of photos at most, but he can and has been keeping it up in between them, because it's really comfortable and he likes the way he can duck into it. It reminds him of wearing his mask, a little bit. He wonders if that's intentional. It's really clever if it is, and he knows for a fact that Marinette is clever.

"Not this particular family member, no. I prefer this." Enzo grins, looking happier than he had at any time when they were still fighting with poses indoors. "Your friends have brought a lot of energy to these photos, yes? They're going to be popular, especially with all of the hero couture." He nods down at his camera. "They are _ very good_, believe me."

Adrien thinks that Enzo might be exaggerating at first, but when there finally isn't enough light to work with they all crowd around Enzo's camera as he shows them photo after photo and they're- they _ are _ really good.

They've all been having fun trading bits of outfits and teasing each other (Adrien is wearing the Carapace hoodie over the Rena Rouge shirt by now, and despite not wanting to be in any photographs Marc is wearing the Ladybug skirt, and while Adrien wasn't wrong about Alix refusing to give up the jacket Marinette had produced a similar one in red for herself at some point), and that joy and humour suffuses every one of the pictures. 

Adrien's personal favourite is one of him and Marinette posing back-to-back beneath a tree, both grinning at the camera, while Alix inches into frame on a tree branch above them with a wicked grin on her face and a water balloon in her hand. Behind her, Nathaniel's visibly worried as he glances down at Adrien and Marinette. 

Adrien is still not sure where she'd gotten a water balloon. She _ had _ deliberately missed them, at least, although there's a follow-up picture of Alya and Nino with wet hair and exchanging exasperated expressions.

Marc actually asks if he can have copies of those two.

"Hey," Adrien says, thoughtfully, before they can all split up for the night. He has a real question, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't also want to delay that splitting up for as long as possible. "Marinette, these won't be out officially for a few weeks yet, but you have a website, right? I want to make sure I have the information correct when we print-" He trails off, tilting his head at the dazed expression that's crossed Marinette's face. "Marinette?"

Alya rolls her eyes and gently swats Marinette on the arm. "Hello, earth to Marinette! Promotion, remember? You gotta promote your work!" She turns to Adrien and adds, "_ Yes_, she has a website, I keep trying to get her to let me link to it on the Ladyblog."

"That wouldn't be fair, Alya," Marinette protests immediately, though she still sounds a little breathless. "Maybe the heroes don't _ want _ people making money off of them. Has anyone ever actually _ asked _ them?"

A look of trepidation crosses Alya's face. "I-I think they asked for the movie? Maybe some of the toy lines?"

They hadn't, actually, for the toys. In fact Adrien's pretty sure the movie is the only time they've been asked permission at all, and even then they arguably hadn't actually given it. (They'd wanted to discuss it with each other first, because they'd frankly both been a little worried about how they'd be portrayed in it, and then Adrien had ended up in the casting call anyway and spent _ weeks _ trying to come up with ways to reassure Ladybug that the plot hadn't been too bad without giving away how he knew that). 

But Adrien can definitely go and give Marinette permission himself, and he doesn't doubt for a moment that his Lady will be willing to as well. 

"Why don't you ask them?" he suggests, gently, and Marinette turns a very interesting shade of red.

"Wh-what makes you think I'd even be able to contact them?" she stutters, and Adrien winces inwardly, because that _ is _ a good point. For that matter, he's not sure how he can justify Chat Noir just happening to show up and offer support for a superhero line, especially when it's fairly obvious that Marinette has kept her hero designs private up until now.

Nathaniel's found a bench to share with Marc, who's laying across his lap scribbling furiously in a journal by now, but he looks up at that. "Don't they patrol around here pretty regularly?"

Adrien makes a hasty mental note to suggest they start switching up their patrols more often.

Alix swings down from a nearby tree, her legs hooked neatly over a branch, and blows a stray bit of hair out of her face. "I mean, yeah, I think they do?" She gives an upside-down shrug. "An' I mean, you could always borrow Chloe's bee signal." She snickers.

"I don't think they answer that, dude," Nino tells her, before stepping back as Alix loses her balance and falls from the tree.

"Really?" she asks from the dirt, voice muffled. "Really, none of you? No one was gonna catch me? Agreste, I thought you were a gentleman."

"He's not," Nino and Alya chorus as Marinette helps Alix back to her feet, brushing dirt from the jacket. 

The dirt slides neatly off of it, leaving it looking like Alix had never fallen at all.

"Whoa," Alix says, twisting around to inspect the fabric, tugging on the hem of it until Marinette gently pushes her hand down. "How'd it _ do _ that? What did you make this stuff out of, Marinette, _ magic?"_

Marinette squeaks and lets go of Alix's jacket. "No, I, uh, I-"

She stops, shuts her eyes and takes a deep breath. When she opens her eyes again, she speaks up in a much steadier voice. "It's inspired by Ladybug and Chat Noir's outfits, too. Have you ever noticed how their suits never seem to stay dirty for very long?"

_ Adrien _ hadn't noticed that and he really, really should have.

"Okay, that is _ super _ cool," Alix says, still inspecting the jacket. "Also, can I keep this?"

Marinette raises an eyebrow. "Are you going to pay me for it?"

Alix looks guilty for a second while Marc and Nathaniel snicker, before rallying. "I'm... helping you promote it?"

Marinette rolls her eyes before she reaches out, grasps the edge of the jacket, and somehow twists it off of Alix entirely in a single smooth movement. "Remember when I said they were activewear? I meant like, _ really _ active."

Alix blinks down at the jacket in Marinette’s hands, then back up at Marinette.

"What the-" Alya immediately attempts the same thing with her Ladybug hoodie. It comes off in moments as well. "What did you _ do, _Marinette, make breakaway clothing?"

"Well- yeah, actually." Marinette shrugs, serenely ignoring the slightly panicked look Nino is giving his shirt. "Not the like, shirts or anything that's a close layer, but remember that akuma that was tripping people with their own clothes?"

"Yes," Alix and Marc both chorus, sounding extremely disgruntled about it.

Marinette shrugs. "I kind of just- combined that idea with, like, those breakaway collars cats have."

Plagg, still hidden up in Adrien's hood, starts snickering and Adrien wishes he could defend himself to his kwami. That had only ever come up _ once _ and that had been a very specific akuma. 

Ladybug hadn't laughed at the time, but when they were trying to spar during their next patrol she'd kept looking at his bell, catching herself, looking back at his face and cracking up at his expressions.

Admittedly he'd been making those expressions just to hear her laugh, but still. 

Marinette doesn't have a problem getting all of her clothes back from her friends, though Alix actually does ask if she can commission a jacket from her and Alya wants to know if the Ladybug hoodie and skirt are spoken for.

Adrien sort of wants to know that too.

(He finds out they aren’t, exactly, two nights later when he drops by her balcony as Chat Noir. 

He finds out that they aren't because she wanted to offer them to _ him_, and he has to remind himself not to take off again _ immediately_, he's so excited to show Ladybug).

**Author's Note:**

> title is from 'stray cat strut'
> 
> i have those cat puns on a shirt, by which i mean i wrote them on a shirt


End file.
